Who's the Stranger With the Dead Man's Smile?
by JPV
Summary: The Wanderer alongside the BoS destroyed the Enclave, but what happens when something is so evil it refuses to stay dead? What happens when BoS soldiers start to get butchered across the wastes and their checkpoints and patrols start to vanish and gory messes are all that can be found? Who is the wandering stranger, and who's the one with the dead man's smile? M for blood lang lem


Intro

Checkpoint thirteen could hardly be described as vibrant, none of the world could, but on this night its BoS inhabitants danced and cheered and clinked bottles and glasses while the metallic whine of a radio linked to a MacGyvered p.a system blurted out old tunes of happiness and love. While most danced and drank a few stood atop barricades to man the post that all fifteen were supposed to hold. Four well armed men in power armor standing watch over a dozen well trained soldiers that could access their weapons in a moment's notice was a deterrent for all wastelanders, all except one. Just out of view of the BoS perimeter guard James Walland, stood a stranger in a leather duster and a wide brimmed brown leather hat hiding in plain sight. The stranger gazed upon the grey armor of the brotherhood soldier that shone in the pale moonlight with a devilish smirk hidden from said moonlight by a tipped brim and a thin coating of yellow. The brim slowly rose to reveal the pair of violet eyes and leathery olive skin of a devilish face. The stranger sang along to the song on the radio as he snapped his modified gauss rifle up with one hand as though it were only a pistol and turned James' helmeted head into a mist of gore. A few shrieks went out when the headless corpse dropped to its knees and spilled blood upon the congregation below. Shrieks were quickly replaced by bellows of orders and the charging of laz weapons as the fort came to life.

"I've lost all ambition of worldly acclaim" The stranger sang as he lifted a detonator beside his face. "I just want to be the one you love." The stranger squeezed the detonator's trigger setting off a chain of small explosions about fifty meters on the opposite side of the checkpoint before dropping the detonator and disappearing into the shadows with his gauss rifle held tight to his shoulder.

The BoS didn't notice the explosions but they did notice the next three soldiers to fall as bright white balls of gauss detonated their chests. The camp raked fire across the street at a small block of decrepit buildings hoping they could get a shot on whoever was firing on them, they never did. The stranger cackled into the night as he sang along with the tunes of the radio and lanced gauss round after gauss round into the checkpoint from a new position each time. Paladin Hoss fought to rally his men as yet another lost his head to their assailant, the fight was lost when his arm was blown off at the elbow. In a deafening screech of pain the paladin soaked the trooper next to him in a fountain of gore, both from the atomization of his joint and from the crimson that poured from his nub. Poor rookie medic Cain tried with all his little might to save his commander, he never saw the deathclaw that leapt over the barricade and tore his own arm from his torso. The BoS troopers' screams in the night as a half dozen, very angry, deathclaws hopped their barricade and shredded into the group from the flank they ignored was music to the strangers' ears. Standing atop the ruined building the Stranger held out both arms as the curtails of his duster blew in the late night breeze and the moon set upon his back with an eerie glow. He bellowed to the heavens, just barely louder than the snarls, and screams, and shouts, and bangs of the fight below the lyrics to his new favorite song.

"I don't wanna set the world on fire honey" A massive grin grew on the stranger's face as he caught a glimpse of one escaping brotherhood soldier but didn't skip a beat "I love ya too much, I just want to start a great big flame" The stranger trained his gauss rifle on the back of the soldier in possibly the most awkward contortion of a shooting position possible "Down in your heart." Rookie Lysander was thrown onto his face by the force of the gauss round scything him half ending his short life face down in a bloody puddle on the sidewalk.

Just as suddenly as the panic began it ceased, and the world was returned to its dead silence not even broken by the usual shouts and screams of the wasteland, no not tonight, the wasteland herself sat in silent awe of the stranger who hummed as he sorted through the piles of mutilated BoS troopers with the small group of remaining deathclaws watching over him. The stranger crouched and hummed as he claimed the holotags of every trooper he found until the last trinket was claimed. Slowly he rose to his feet, the crimson that laced his hands, boots, and curtails shining bright in the pale moonlight and he keen ears trained on the hums of the many laz weapons that covered the floor, some never even having had the chance to of been fired. The stranger's musings were interrupted by a metallic whine over the radio that cut off the end of the song.

"Heyooooooo to all you crazy cats and kitties out there this is your host THREEE DOOOOG OWWWWWWWW here to wish you a happy VOE day. That's Victory Over Enclave day for those of you livin' under a ROCK! Today marks the five year anniversary of our precious wasteland being freed from the hands of those bastards in black the Enclave. To celebrate, this one goes out to all you out there fightin' the good fight. It's a beautiful night for a new song and some great times kitties." On that three dog started playing his first brand new song in years to which the stranger had to smile at and sing along as he sauntered down the road away from this massacre and on to the next.

"I'm gonna tell Aunt Mary about Uncle John He claims he has the misery but he has a lot of fun Oh baby, yes, baby Ooh baby, havin' me some fun tonight, yeah Well, long tall Sally, she's built for speed She got everything that Uncle John need Oh baby, yes, baby Ooh baby, havin' me some fun tonight, yeah" The crazed stranger waltzed down the road singing his new, new favorite song with his rifle over his shoulder, a rucksack full of goodies on his back, and a fist tangled in crimson necklaces by his side. With his head low and a slight grin on his face that revealed extra sharp k-nines the stranger whispered his promise that oh yes he was going to have some fun, he was going to have lots of fun tonight.

Chapter One

Some men don't just want to watch the WORLD burn, just you.

"Dear God how could this happen." Sarah Lyons let out an exasperated breath and had to set herself heavily upon a chair when she heard the previous night's report in the emergency meeting of BoS commanders. "How the hell could we lose FIVE posts in one night? Do we have any idea who did this?"

"So far, no, we have no idea who is behind this." A very solemn Elder Lyons admitted to the assembled knight commanders. "What we do know is that no enemy bodies were recovered except that of deathclaws at a few locations, all tags from the forty five fallen soldiers were missing, no cartridges were found, nothing was stolen, all our men were killed by some enhanced form of gauss if not by a deathclaw, and" the Elder paused and let out a sigh as he tossed a file onto the round table that fell open to reveal an artist's sketch. "The commander's body at each post was found missing their eyes, tongue, ears, and fingers."

The more squeamish scribes reeled and gagged at the sight of the pictures while the paladins and knights merely sat in stone silence. The Elder made it clear that whatever they were dealing with was something very threatening, and very evil. Some raised the question if it could have been the Outcasts but all knew that even they were not this cruel in their resolve to return to the old ways. The only explanation any could come up with was the one the avoided so whole heartedly from the beginning, could it be that the Enclave was back? It had been two years since the Wanderer helped the Brotherhood stop the Enclave and it hadn't even been a year since said wanderer had packed up and begun their cross-country journey to see what they could do about the rest of what was the U.S. Whatever was at fault here, the Brotherhood would have to deal with WITHOUT the aid of their trump card.

"Do we have any plans on how to catch whatever group did this? Asked Star Paladin cross.

"At this point we have no leads except what has been listed in that dossier. Profilers tell me that the people who did this likely had a vendetta against us and are more than likely poised to attack again, they doubt anyone with this much firepower and precision could have come from anywhere nearby however as we've dug out just about every scrap of tech for hundreds of miles. So, I will be having special teams head to all local towns with a steady flow of immigrants and have them ask around." Elder Lyons concluded

"Permission to head up the search teams sir?" Requested Sarah.

"Negative, Lyons Pride must remain active and ready in case we need a QRF."

"Understood Elder."

"If that's all, you are all dismissed. Further orders will be delivered to you via email on your personal terminals."

With that the assembly scattered into the halls to return to their usual duties and posts. Sarah Lyons found herself back in the Lyons Pride barracks sipping away at a bottle of scotch after having abandoned her armor. She was never a woman to feel fear or to let anything shake her but she had to admit that the idea of having to fight another war on the Enclave had her a bit more than a little spooked. Four shots of liquid courage later and the idea of worry had finally left her body. When Star Paladin Cross slid into the Pride's barracks he was rather surprised when he laid his eyes upon a very naked Sentinel Lyons. Her slender and well toned body was always hidden by the thick armor suit that committed the crime of hiding her perfect curves. Cross would have stared long at her perfect ass had he not noticed that Lyons' body was slowly turning towards him. With a warm face Cross snapped to face the other direction. The soldier felt equal shock to when he first arrived when Sarah spoke in a normal, unembarrassed, unconcerned tone when she found that the paladin had been watching her.

"What is it Cross" Sarah asked, hands on hips and completely exposing her glory.

"N-nothing mam, just t-the search teams are being dispatched a-and the Elder wanted you to inspect them before they headed off." Cross cursed himself quietly for stammering after Lyons dismissed him from her unit's barracks.

Lyons was once again alone in her surprisingly barren barracks. She did wonder as to where her troopers had gone but decided to wave it off as she needed to head off to fulfill the Elders wishes. In a flash she dressed herself in the heavy BoS power armor before rushing out the door to head for the quad where the brotherhood units were assembled. Before her stood twenty armed and armored brotherhood squads that would split into groups of five and investigate the largest towns in D.C. Most looked fresh from boot but she knew every brotherhood soldier could more than hold their own out in the world and she was confident that one of these squads of knights were sure to find out group butchered their brethren on THEIR holiday. The Knights and recruits were good and ready to seek revenge and Lyons could see it even with their faces covered by their power armor helms. With great pride and pleasure Sentinel Lyons rendered the cluster of soldiers a taught salute before giving them the go ahead to get going on their hunt. Few noticed two extra BoS troopers leave with the squads of soldiers on the greatest hunting trip they had ever partaken in, and fewer still noticed the grinning stranger lurking in one the nearby buildings watching the assembled soldiers with a Cheshire cat grin.

Squad four was well on their way to the newly refurbished Paradise Falls. The former slave camp had been conquered and repurposed to become an excellent little budding town in the wastes. Most would have figured that the massive statue of a boy holding an ice-cream cone would always be an infamous landmark of oppression; they never would have guessed that one day it would be a beacon for new immigrants. It was because of this statue that stood out so clearly for miles that roving bands of immigrants were able to so easily flock to the bustling new town. Squad four was just able to pick out the land mark on the horizon when something caught their Knight commander's eye. In an instant the squad snapped their attention to the sound each training their laz rifles on an alley between two buildings across the street. When a BoS trooper stepped around the corner with his hands sarcastically raised over his head a few of squad four's members couldn't help but chuckle. The squad slowly dropped their guard and the new comer shook his head laughing as he shouldered his laz rifle. Knight leader Jim Gregor approached the new trooper with his rifle lax across his chest. With a nod the commander asked the newcomer where he came from, at least he would have had said newcomer not lunged forward with blinding speed and lodged a knife right in the gap between Jim's armor and his helmet. What turned out to be a tri-beam laz rifle barked to life and launched arch after arch of laser fire into the bewildered squad while the newcomer trooper clutched Jim's gurgling body close like a meet shield, if the other troopers ever started firing. Confusion and horror raked the group as the newcomer riddled their second in command in laz beams while still guiding the slack corpse of their commander around as one would a puppet. Finally they wised up and dove for cover so they could start returning fire on the imposter who was backing into the dark alley, still clutching the commander's body. In a burst of bravery or stupidity the three remaining soldiers charged off down the alley while their radio operator called in the sighting on their mobile h.a.m radio. Using all their learned tactics the group bounded down the alley until they came out the other end at the back of a multistory building. At the foot of the back entrance laid the body of their commander, missing his holotags, and a pile of discarded power armor. Each of the three troopers looked one another and nodded simultaneously before charging headlong into the old decrepit building.

Inside the building nothing could be heard except the heavy footfall of the BoS troopers and the low hums of their laz rifles. Recruit Hailey Marooney lead what remained of her squad to the base of an old staircase that was coated in blood. She hesitantly looked back at the two soldiers following her for a brief, silent, moment before they gaze her and she returned to them a reassuring nod. The first step onto the rotten wooden stairs creaked painfully loud, but not as loud as the screams and slam of a previously unseen BoS soldier crushing a railing on an upper floor and falling down four stories before landing in a wooden crater on the floor. The trooper in the rear lunged over to the fallen trooper who swatted his hand away in a panic before drawing his laz pistol. Damian McKenzie tried to calm the trooper who had fallen by removing his own helmet to reveal what he hoped would be a familiar face to the trooper from the sky. The idea worked and the trooper on the ground shakily rose from his hole in the ground and mimicked Damian by removing his helmet as well. Every BoS trooper followed suit to ensure there wouldn't be any more confusion as to who may be the imposter if they got separated. The trooper who fell explained to the group that he and his team was attacked by an imposter and tracked him here to this building where than ran into more imposters on the upper levels. Together the four ascended the stairs and reported to their commanders the new findings.

The eerie silence returned to fill the void that was the big old building. Each creak resounded as though it were a blast from a shotgun in the minds of the four brave BoS troopers as they ascended the old world staircase. Finally after what felt like millennia the group reached the top floor. This time they wouldn't allow their enemy to get the jump on them and so they packed themselves against the wall nearest the only door on the top floor in preparation to breech. Hailey held up a hand and counted down before the breech. Damian watched the metallic fingers slowly fall one by one. Each moment felt like an hour as the hand gradually closed into a fist before him and instantly the world sped up. Before he knew it the door was down and the group was barreling into a small room returning fire at a small group of helmeted imposters across the room. Ducked behind a refrigerator that they tore from the wall Damian and the trooper that fell named Roger returned fire at the assembled group. From across the room Damian heard a familiar voice cry out a promise of vengeance between bursts of laz fire. For a brief moment Damian's mind went blank then he was suddenly surer now than he was of anything before. From behind the refrigerator Damian called out to the voice he believed was his friend Gus.

"Aye Gus, that you?" Called Damian from behind the refrigerator.

"Damian? What the hell man what are you doing over there?"

"Take off your helmets! It's the only way to identify the imposters!" The gathered BoS soldiers followed suit until every single one stood unmasked. The gathered men and women from squads two, four, and five had fired upon each other, each thinking that the other was the imposter who had killed at least one soldier in each of their groups. Squad four told the others that they found the disassembled armor suit at the entrance of the building and so the ranking officer, one Knight Gordon, ordered the rest to scan the building for anyone suspicious.

The search brought Damian, Hailey and their squadmate Max came to a cracked and festering old door on the third floor of the building. Behind the door came strange shuffling sounds and a very familiar hum. Squad four wasted no time breeching the door and training their rifles on the source of the sound. A man in a brown duster whirled around clutching a laz rifle and wearing a look of utter terror. In a flash the squad riddled the man in holes before he could get off even one accurate shot at the three standing in the doorway. Smiles and looks of joy were exchanged between the group as the thought of having gotten justice filled their minds, until a demonic humming came over their mobile ham followed by echoing giggles and suave voice singing.

"There is someone walking behind you," As if on cue every BoS trooper in ear shot started hastily searching around themselves. "turn around, look at me." Some paniced and grew angry calling to the heavens for the voice to reveal itself "There is someone watching your footsteps,**" **Damian was confused, he thought they killed the imposter, then it occurred to him in a flash "turn around, look at me" The building erupted in a massive inferno as blazing corpses and body parts flew from destroyed windows before the entire structure came crashing down.

Damian's last thoughts was imagining a stranger dumping his armor in the entrance of the building they stood in, just before bolting down the next alley unnoticed while his squad charged into the building where they assumed he was. When the shots rang out from the top floor the stranger would have tricked the homeless man into looting the building and settling him on the third floor, while the real threat planted explosives.

Just down the road the stranger of the wastes hummed the rest of his song with his tight fitting black leather trench coat clinging to his body, while twirling a set of holotags around his trigger finger.

It would be less than another hour that BoS reinforcements would arrive at the destroyed building to find their three squads massacred. Sarah Lyons herself was in attendance on the vertibird when she thought it would bring her face to face with one of the people that butchered her soldiers a few nights ago. She cursed herself when all the response team found was a smoldering pile filled with dead BoS troopers. Lyons secretly embedded two of her best soldiers with the hunting party to prevent this very thing but she hadn't heard from them since they headed out, in her mind she prayed that they weren't among these dead soldiers.

With clenched fists Paladin Colvin vowed beneath his all mighty God that he would personally dispatch whoever committed such atrocities upon the brotherhood. The rest of Lyons pride made similar vows that evening as they stood among the mounds of ash and shattered remains of armor. Lyons was digging through the rubble when she noticed something sitting ontop of a hunk of concrete so perfectly it had to have been placed there. In a flash she snatched the trinket and turned to face her soldiers. While standing just outside the pile of rubble in perhaps the most stoic manner a person could in their situation Lyons' stomach began to churn. The Sentinel locked eyes, or eye slits, with each of the assembled members of the response before shouldering her way through the crowd and marching back onto the vertibird. Inside the safety of the vertiberd Lyons sat in front of a console that displayed the face of her father.

"What have you discovered Sentinel?" Asked the elder through the console's voice box.

"This," Sarah held up a mint conditioned bobble head of an enclave soldier holding the prewar pentagon building in its hands "is only the beginning".


End file.
